I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to techniques for scheduling transmissions and saving power for stations in a wireless communication network.
II. Background
Wireless networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, and so on. These networks may be capable of supporting communication for multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Examples of such networks include wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless personal area networks (WPANs), and wireless wide area networks (WWANs). The terms “network” and “system” are often used interchangeably.
A wireless network may include any number of access points and any number of terminals. An access point may act as a coordinator for communication with the terminals. A terminal may actively communicate with an access point, may be idle, or may be powered down at any given moment. The terminals may have different data requirements and capabilities. A major challenge is then to schedule terminals for transmission as efficiently as possible based on their requirements and capabilities and the available network resources.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to efficiently schedule terminals in a wireless network.